Love You
by LilyWafiq
Summary: How Rick discovered Kate had heard him. Spoilers for season 3/4


Kate was being more standoffish than normal, or so Rick thought. Ever since she caught him kissing another woman, she hadn't said a word to him besides, 'let's go.' They were sitting in Kate's squad car, Kate driving, same as ever, and Rick was staring across at her as she drove. To her credit, Kate was doing her best to ignore his stares as she resolutely stared at the road ahead of them.

"Beckett..." Rick ventured, not receiving a reply. He sighed. "Kate, are you mad at me?"

"No. Why would I be mad at you?" she replied curtly.

"Well, I don't know... but it seems as though you are."

"Well, I just wasn't expecting to find you making out with someone," Kate replied, still not looking at Rick.

"Oh? Why not? Am I not just a womaniser to you?" Rick asked, a slight edge to his voice.

"What? No. It's just... walking in on you with your tongue down someone else's throat when you said you..." She suddenly stopped talking, and Rick raised an eyebrow.

"'When you said you...'" he prompted.

Kate remained silent, her cheeks a little flushed.

"What did I say, Kate?"

She shook her head once, her mouth staying shut.

Rick rolled his eyes, and said, "Pull over, Kate."

"What?" For the first time, Kate actually looked over at Rick, her features rearranged in a confused and surprised expression.

"Pull over," Rick replied.

"No, Castle. I am not going to pull over."

"Yes, you are. You started this conversation and I intend for you to finish it. Now pull over."

Something in his voice must have conveyed the seriousness of the situation, because Kate sighed and pulled over when she could. She stopped the engine, and turned to face Rick.

"So, Kate," Rick began. "Why did it annoy you so much when to see me kissing another woman?"

"Because you said you loved me," Kate replied, almost whispering.

Rick stayed silent for a few minutes, collecting his thoughts. She'd been lying when she said she didn't remember. He'd suspected, but here was the proof. He didn't know whether to be happy because she was quite clearly jealous, or angry because she'd ignored him for three months and made him believe his declaration had fallen on deaf ears.

Finally the silence was broken when Kate said quietly, "Castle? Rick, please say something."

"You lied to me."

"I'm sorry."

"Do you know how hard this has been for me, Kate?" Rick said. "I watched you die, but then you survived, and seeing you smile at me when I walked into that hospital room... I thought maybe you'd heard me. Maybe you felt the same way. But then you said you didn't remember, and I had to pretend like everything was back to how it always was. But Kate... I love you."

Kate looked away, and Rick could see her tearing up.

"Please don't cry, Kate."

"I'm sorry, Rick. I'm so sorry."

"Kate, I get it if you don't feel the same way. I'll move on." Eventually.

"No..."

"What?"

Kate reached out and gently placed her hand on top of Rick's. "You know what I said about there being a wall up? Well, you were right, it won't always be there. And when I get to that point, I want you to be there. I love you, as much as I can at the moment. For now, it's the best I can do."

Rick looked back up into Kate's eyes, and offered a small smile. "For now, it's enough."

Kate smiled too, and leant forward, placing a chaste kiss on the side of Rick's mouth. Pulling back she said, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Loving me, even though I'm not all here at the moment."

"Kate. You are so easy to love. And I'm going to help you break down those walls. We'll get there."

"We will," Kate replied. "We will."

"I love you, Kate."

"I love you, Rick."

As Kate pulled back out onto the road, Rick saw her smile to herself. It wasn't going to be an easy task to break down those walls, but when they did...

**A/N: Reviews are always welcome :)**

**I am also trying to finish Changes. If all else fails, I will finish it over the summer holidays that are coming up. (Unless you're in the northern hemisphere, cos for you it'd be winter :P)**


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